Infected Promises
by Bullshifters
Summary: There are three things the Hunter knows in the pits of his mind. He walks on two legs and he can't stop moving, he doesn't have a hood so his overgrown fringe will have to do and his name is Nick. NickXEllis, Infected One Shot


**Hello all :)**

**So this was just a quick one-shot I wrote today, I know there are alot of Infected Nick/Ellis fics out there but you can interpret this as heavy friendship if you want. It's a bit dreary at the beginning as it just shows how sombre the situation is (I wouldn't like to be Infected tbh), and then it gets more cheerful I hope.**

**Read and Review!**

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His dagger long nails dragged the gravel towards the middle of his palm as he clenched his palms closed. His ragged breathing travelled up and down his spine, his darting eyes taking in everything in a millisecond. He opened his mouth wide, and the short sharp scream that had been building in his burning lungs was released, sizzling the summer air. No wandering Infected turned to look at him as he ambled along, choosing to walk on two legs more than four (something about surviving this long told him to keep walking on two, though technically, what was there to run from anymore?).

The Hunter couldn't remember much, only that he walked on two legs, he didn't have a hood so his overgrown fringe would have to suffice to block the harsh midday sunlight and that his name was Nick.

His mind told him his name was Nick, though his lips refused to form it. He also knew that he is stuck from here to wherever, if that makes sense. In his addled mind it does.

He passed through the rain and the sticky sludge and burning buildings, hordes, clowns, tanks. Whatever his mind conjured up, it showed him brief images of battering people's heads in, reloading, recovering, long quiet nights in safe houses and tainted kisses on the bridge of his cheekbone. His head shook as the images came faster, as well as the emotions the Infection was forcing to forget, fear, anger, lust, guilt, joy, the feeling of relief, the feeling of love.

And then in an instant it's all washed away and Nick is left with the three things again.

He's a two-legger, he has no hood when something tells him he should and he's Nick.

He's always been Nick.

* * *

Nick screeches and jumps to the ledge of the next building, scrabbling with his large black nails before he's sitting dumbly at the top, staring down at the wandering Infected. He's never seen such an empty minded thing as the crowd that keeps bumping into each other, vomiting, falling over, and crowing with hunger. And dying. Nick snorts through his nose and mumbles a few incoherent syllables.

He's glad he's not one of them.

Something pulls him over the next rooftop, and the next, an urge to keep going, as if there was something to see. The urge becomes like hunger, and something sparks in the pit of Nick's defected brain. Could it be the smell of food that's pulling him?

But, alas, it was not, as he wavered precariously over the edge of a particularly tall building. All that pulled him to this street is vanished as he looks down at the street, exactly like the last one, about 10 Commons stupidly bumping around. Nick sighs, and if he could decifer what he was feeling, he would know it was disappointment. Suddenly there is a roar of the Infected and the beings suddenly spring to life beneath him, letting out hungered cries of their own and charging off with a speed that matched Nick's.

Nick didn't know he was doing it, but he was raising an eyebrow.

After the gnashing creatures in his street rushed off to join the bulk of the rest of the Infected (probably fighting over the carcass of some long dead person, the smell once again catching the drift of the air), Nick noticed there was still one particularly stupid Common standing in the street, stumbling around.

Nick jumped down and landed as gracefully as he could, a tuck and roll involved if he had no target to pin. Nick cocked his head at the glaze eyed Infected before springing over to a bench to sit on his hunkers. The Infected was staring at him, and he shifted uncomfortably when it shuffled over.

He really got a fright when it bared its teeth at him.

Nick let out a warning screech and the creature dropped the sides of its mouth so it was no longer smiling at the surly Hunter. Nick growled reproachfully and glared straight ahead, past the Common, into the glass of the building in front.

Suddenly Nick let out a mewl when he felt the bench shift to the right as the bloodied Infected sat down. Instead of attacking the cheeky Infected, Nick laid his eyes on the boy. Hm, clothes ripped yes, prominent cuts of his face, arms and through holes on his lower half. A large bite on his collarbone, almost startling white eyes, devoid of any colour because of the Infection riddling his body but… wait.

Nick let out an angered huff before reaching a clawed hand forward to snatch the hat off the Common's head.

He knew in his head, that Common's weren't supposed to have something on their heads, and that he was. So this Infected might just come in handy. He reached forward again to snag the trucker hat off the staring Common but it shrieked and clawed Nick across the arm. Nick immediately retracted his hand, his eyes narrowing at the uncooperative boy, whose hand was now firmly planted on his head to keep the hat in place.

Nick snarled and pounced at the boy, pressing him to the ground. Helplessly he squirmed, but Nick grabbed the hat and then propelled 30 feet in the air. The Common got up quickly and let out a cry before turning away and started shuffling again.

With a twitch of a smirk, Nick placed the well-worn cap upon his head, feeling the fabric brush his ears the beak shade his face. Ah, much better. With a snort in the direction of the Common he leapt off again.

* * *

There wasn't much he could remember.

All he knew was that he had lost his hat, and that there was a guy called Nick out there somewhere that he needed to find. And this street was where he was going to find him, one way or another.

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Nick crawled over rooftops for hours before settling down on the ledge, his arm hanging over precariously. He fell into a state of subconscious that wasn't sleeping, almost dreaming but not quite and when he awoke more of his memory had been wiped clean. He retched and brought up stringy mucus and after spitting numerous times, he inhaled and his eyes darkened. There was a new scent in the air, and his stomach grumbled and his claws itched for bloodlust.

With a screech he leapt from the roof and landed on the street below. With a double take, he realised that the hatless Common was staring at him. He had travelled for hours last night; it couldn't be that he was in the same street.

With a glance around he confirmed it was different, but the infected was the same, the thin ripped yellow t-shirt hanging off his defined pale shoulderblade, the scrubby sandy hair standing up without his hat and the same blank milky stare, his head tilted to the side staring Nick down. Nick growled and pulled the hat further over his head before leaping off again, leaving the stock still Infected in his wake.

Soon enough, he had lost the scent and he growled in annoyance before crouching on a nearby bench. He sighed looking up the north end of the street. Suddenly when he turned his head slightly to the side he caught sight of something in his peripheral vision and he yelped and jumped back.

The Common stared back, it's hand stretched out for the hat perched upon Nick's greasy head of hair. It let out a soft whine, shuffling up the bench. Nick crawled away on all fours before he was a substantial distance away.

It was obvious the Common was following him. So with a split decision he screamed and jumped into the air, passing over the rooftops with speed he didn't know he possessed.

Every fibre of his being told him to escape the annoying Common. After about an hour of full out sprinting and jumping over rooftops, twisting in undescribable patterns and going in unfollowable directions he sat his a happy sigh and jumped down into the body littered street.

With a glance around and a twist of a smile he sprawled across a bench. With a moan he closed his eyes. He was awakened by movement and when he opened his eyes, no other but the hatless boy stood staring over him, his mouth pulled into a manic grin.

Horror sunk it's fangs into Nick as he scrambled to get away, stopping only when the Common opened his mouth.

A string of blood fell from the Common's mouth before his lips flapped, his teeth smacking together, mumbled sounds forming but falling away. Nick didn't know it, but he was raising an eyebrow again.

'-Ick' The Infected finally managed, a proud look settled over his face.

The Hunter in return growled slightly, wondering if this word had anything to do with his own word imprinted in his mind.

'-Ick' Nick repeated. The Common gave out a squeal and settled next to the Hunter on the bench, reaching his hand forward. This time Nick didn't protect his head but surprisingly the Common's hand landed on his own, a smile burning into his mind. The Common squeezed oh so gently and Nick furrowed his eyebrows, squeezing back. Nick didn't knowif this was destined to happen, fortelled by some past life, but right now, he knew among the mumbled unformed words bouncing around his head, that this was one thing that made sense.

* * *

A shadowy figure appeared above Nick's fallen form. Nick raised his gun to blow the creature away before the person opened his mouth and blew him away instead.

'Aw hell Nick, I've been looking for you everywhere'

'Ellis?' He coughed, bringing a hand up to stop the thin stream of blood falling from the edge of his mouth. 'Ellis you were supposed to go on with the others for Christ Sake, you can't save me'

'I know' Ellis sighed, settling down in the street next to the fallen form of his friend. Ellis dropped his own gun. Infected wandered around them as if they didn't exist. It sunk in for Nick a moment too slow.

'Your Infected too?' He hoarsely cried, dragging the country boy down to his chest. He cried silently, his back shaking with grief-stricken tears. From where he was pressing his face into his chest, he could clearly see the black blood oozing bite-mark on his shoulder blade that he had inflicted.

'Guess I wasn't immune as I thought' Ellis let out a whooshing sigh before letting tears wash a clean line down his cheeks.

'I'm so sorry' Nick managed, digging his fingers (gradually lengthening) into Ellis' broad arms, remembering when he reared up and attacked the boy, tearing flesh from his chest. The memory made him sick. That's when they left him, when he begged them to leave him, and they did.

Except for Ellis he supposed.

Ellis heaved the older man in his white ruined suit onto a nearby bench, sitting opposite a long abandoned and desolate Wal-Mart. They sat side by side, their hands clenched together, rain, blood and tears running between their fingers. Ellis turned his pale face towards Nick's, his lank hair stuck to his head in the rain.

'Promise me something Nick'

'What is it Overalls?'

'That when we turned Infected or whatever, that we'll meet again'

'Where do you suggest?'

'How bout right here?' Ellis smiled weakly, gesturing to the abandoned weak lit street, the muttering Infected stumbling past. Nick knew they wouldn't be attacked anymore so he dropped his gun, watching it skitter across the destroyed street.

'No problem El. Don't forget me…'

'How could I forget you Nick? How in the hell could I ever forget you?'

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**Reviewwww :D xx**


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